All Saints Bay

 bay  Add category

The Bay of All Saints is the largest Brazilian bay and is located in the state of Bahia. It is from here that the name of its province and state originate.

It is 1,052 square kilometers and 42 meters deep, with 10 to 20 meters visibility.

HISTORY

It was named on 1st of November, All Saints Day, 1501, when a Portuguese expedition was sent to relearn the new lands found a year before by Pedro Alvares Cabral.

Under the command of Gaspar de Lemos and accompanied by the cartographer and writer Amerigo Vespucci – of whom the American continent is named after – all geographic characteristics were named after the Saint whose day it was when they were found, ending with the Bay. Later the sight was picked to be the capital city for the colony of Brazil, and consequently Salvador became the first capital of Brazil.

ISLANDS

There are fifty-six islands, the largest and most important of which is Itaparica. Other important islands of Bahia are Frades, Maré, Benevolent Jesus, and the ecological station of Medo.


AREAS OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

By state decree in 1999 the bay is considered an area of environmental protection. The bay, its islands, and most of the surrounding áreas are all included in this decree.